Facial steams are a beautiful way to purify the skin, rejuvenate and be present in the moment. Today we share our Sunday ritual- a simple but beautiful facial steam for a supernatural glowing complexion.

Here’s what you do;

Bring 4 cups of water to the boil in a pot

Pour the water into a large bowl and sprinkle in a handful of tea. We use our Rose Petal green tea and combine it with a little Cinnamon Chamomile

Place a towel over your head and rest your face above the hot water so the steam feels warm and relaxing (but not too hot)

Breathe and rest over the bowl for about 5- 10 minutes

Rinse your face with some cool water and pop on your favourite facial oil.

When tea was first discovered it was prepared as a medicine and it was a long time before it actually became thought of as an everyday beverage. Today we naturally think of tea as this abundantly healthy kitchen staple, but thats not actually always the case...

We go out of our way to bring you safe, healthful and delicious tea. Here are some really simple tips on how you can ensure your cup is free from any unnecessary nasties;

Pure

Tea plants are under pressure to keep producing fresh leaves and chemicals can be used heavily to both suppress pests and promote growth. Chemical residues in tea, herbs, spices and flowers commonly used in tea blends can stay on the leaf from the field, through processing and when they are water soluble they can ultimately end up infused into your cup.

A 2012 study of tea produced in China found 100% of samples contained at least 3 pesticide residues with some containing more than 10 different pesticides. Of the samples, well over 50% were found to have traces of harmful banned pesticides. Other studies have found that when tea's contain traces of pesticides, the negative health consequences will outweigh the many benefits associated with drinking tea.

Tea and herbs typically have a long, complicated and often faceless supply chain so organic certification is the best and only way to ensure that it is genuinely organic and chemical free.

Unprocessed

Our ethos is that good quality natural ingredients that are produced with love and consumed fresh taste great. Think fresh new season asparagus in spring time. No need to add artificial flavouring, right? Tea much like many food and beverages has become industrialised - which means the industry has tried to produce more tea, faster and cheaper. Mass produced teas are essentially made so quickly that they don't have the time to develop full flavour - hence the need for artificial and natural flavouring which also happen to be cheap and abundant. More on flavouring here, but what it comes down to is that neither artificial nor natural flavours are great- or very natural. The really happy news is that there are still lots of wonderful, hard working and talented tea makers taking the time to craft tea the real way.

Our tips here are read the ingredients- you might be surprised! Trust mother nature- left to do her thing she gets it right. Know where your tea comes from- just like good wine or chocolate knowing the provenance and maker made is key to ensuring your tea is authentic.

"It seems the only way to know what’s in your food {and drink} for sure is to cook from scratch with basic ingredients and trust the O.G. flavorist, Mother Nature, to make it taste good".

Simple

We adore starting our day with the ritual of brewing loose leaf tea and wouldn't have it any other way. Although convenient, there are a couple of drawbacks with teabags that its really good to know about….here's the deal. It's thought that most standard teabags are actually only 70-80% biodegradable. This is because the rest of the teabag is made of a plastic- in the form of a very thin layer which is what is used to seal off the contents of the bag. If you compost these teabags it means plastic residue will make its way into our soil and waterways. At the moment it's not really known if the plastic from teabags will leach into your cup of hot tea- but its not a very appealing proposition is it? Modern silk pyramid teabags are made from nylon, and turns out the "biodegradable" silk bags are made of GE corn fibre and are not actually fully biodegradable either.

Best go loose {leaf} for a beautiful tea drinking experience that ensures theres no plastic in your cup or your compost.

Last month was a pretty exciting one for us here at Fine & Dandy- we made an epic journey to Sri Lanka and Japan to visit our tea farms. Since we launched our business in 2015 we have been passionate about showcasing the provenance of our tea, and this trip was our chance to learn as much as we could about growing and making tea at source, while showcasing the care and craft that goes into making a truly great brew.

As well as visiting the tea farms where we source our tea, we visited many other farms and estates- organic, non-organic, big and small. The variety of tea growing and processing environments we covered allowed as to get a really good understanding of all that goes into making tea and we had some magical experiences while we were at it.

Thanks for checking out this photo journal on the trip and stay posted for more including our Sri Lanka travel guide!

Adam & Sarah

Cold infusing tea is not only incredibly easy, but the cold water extracts different flavours from the leaf, meaning a sweeter brew with less caffeine. Here's a very simple recipe to make Lemon Rose Iced Tea- perfectly refreshing and thirst quenching for the hottest of summer days.

What you'll need;

1.5 litre glass jar or jug of filtered water

3 tablespoons of our organic Green Tea with Rose Petals

Thinly sliced lemon

Lots of ice

Put the loose leaf tea into the base of the glass jar/jug and fill with filtered water. Place in the fridge for 4-8 hours to infuse.

Fill glasses with ice and sliced lemon and pour over the cold infused tea filtering out the tea and rose petals with a strainer.

Enjoy!

You can cold infuse any of our teas, you'll just need to let herbs like peppermint or Lemongrass, Ginger & Kawakawa infuse for longer to release their full flavour (at least 24 hours).

Chai tea comes from the Ayurvedic Medical Tradition and is healing, warming and anti-inflammatory - we can never get enough of chai. Chai improves digestion, calms the mind and has so many other benefits. We've created this iced chai so you can still get your chai fix during warmer summer days- hope you love this brew as much as we do!

1 cup filtered water

1 cup coconut milk

2 tbls honey/maple syrup

5 heaped teaspoons of our Indian Spiced Chai

5mm think slice of fresh ginger smashed with a pestle and mortar

Place all of the ingredients in a small pan on an element at mid heat and gently warm until the brew is near simmering. Remove from the heat before it boils and pour the liquid into a jug through a mesh strainer removing the tea and spices. Stir in the honey or your sweeter of choice then pop in the fridge until well chilled.

Serve over ice with a sprinkle of cinnamon and garnish with rose petals or edible flowers. Enjoy!

Photo- credit: This photo was taken for Dish Magazine, shot by Josh Griggs, Styled by Kendal Stephanie. The original recipe is for a tea cocktail - a Frozen Chai Russian- let us know if you want the recipe!

Anya and Lukrecya from Peach Pit diner on K Road created this delicious drink using our tea. Its a snap to make at home yourself, or better still pop in to see them for a meal and wash it down with one of these....

Think Green, Drink Green

15ml Agave nectar 1/4 cup chopped cucumber 45ml tequila Hopped grapefruit bitters Iced Fine & Dandy Green tea Smash the cucumber and agave nectar with a cocktail muddling stick or the end of a wooden spoon. Add tequila, ice, bitters, iced green tea and serve in a tall glass. Garnish with a cucumber slice.

We'd love to hear how you go with making it and stay tuned for more!

*Photography credit: Josh Griggs

We're so excited to be collaborating with The Chocolate Bar and Commonsense Organics on an amazing evening of organic tea and bean to bar chocolate- hope to see you there!

You're invited to a very special evening of craft chocolate and delicious tea.

There'll be the full range of our fresh single estate organic tea expertly paired with small batch bean to bar chocolate made by talented artisan chocolate markers. Learn about how terrior and production of cocoa and tea influence flavour- and taste your heart out.

Event: Tea and craft chocolate pairing

Date: Thursday February 4th

Time:7.30pm

Venue: Commonsense Organics, Mt Eden

Tickets: RSVP below, tickets $35

Tickets are limited so get your's here. For more infomation get in touch with Sarah 021 168 6105 or by email.

We are so excited to bring you this event with Luke from Wellington's The Chocolate Bar, hosted by the wonderful team at Commonsense Organics.

We'd love to see you there!

Just like the preparation of really good coffee, careful brewing of tea will pay off with a great flavourful cup. Hear are some tips from the team at F & D to help you improve your daily brew…..

Water- Make it fresh filtered or spring water free from chlorine which taints the delicate flavour profiles of tea

Loose leaves- Use fresh organic leaf tea, free from artificial flavouring and perfume (and the plastics, fillers and other nasties often contained in teabags). The dry leaves should have a good aroma and be a nice bright colour.

Water temperature- Most loose leaf teas reveal their best flavor at a certain temperature point. We can’t get enough of our bonavita temperature controlled kettle for getting this right. If you don’t have a kettle with temperature control you can easily cool hot water to just above 90 degrees by transferring it into another vessel. Adding 25ml cold water will cool 150ml of water to 70-75 degrees which is perfect for most green teas which are the most sensitive to water temperature.

Brewing time- The right brewing time (as per our brew tips for each tea) will give you a full flavour without bitterness. Keep an eye on the clock and remove the leaves from the tea once brewed- you can then enjoy a second and third infusion.

With the warmer weather on it's way it's the perfect time to start experimenting with refreshing and thirst quenching cold brew tea!

Cold infusing tea is incredibly easy, and the slower process is gentler on the leaves, making a delicious drink with subtle flavours.

As a general guide to cold infusion add 1 heaped tablespoon of loose leaves to 4 cups of fresh filtered water (free of chloride etc) and let it sit overnight. In the morning filter off the leaves and enjoy chilled. You can drink it pure or add anything you have on hand - lemon, ginger, mint, apple, honey, peach, lavender etc.

As cold infusing is a slow process you can’t go too far wrong and a bit of experimentation will help you achieve the perfect brew to your taste.

Heres a super refreshing cold infused mojito recipe to get you started;

8 cups of pure filtered water

2 -3 heaped tablespoons of green loose leaf tea

10 sprigs of fresh mint

2 limes

a handful of lemon balm

peach

coconut sugar to taste

white rum- optional

Place 8 cups water, mint sprigs, 1 sliced lime, green loose leaf tea, lemon balm and sliced peach, in a large bowl or jug. Let it rest for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight.Strain into a clean jug and sweeten with coconut sugar to taste. Stir in lots of ice and serve garnished with mint sprigs and the remaining lime slices. Add white rum if desired.

We’d love to hear how you go with your cold brew tea at hello@fineanddandy.co.nz.

And keep an eye out for a tea infused vodka recipe we have on the way...

With tea its all about the ritual, so having great brewing gear will add some theatre to your ritual and help you get the best flavour out of each cup.

Here are our top tips on teapots;

- Removable infuser baskets are pretty common these days. They make it nice and easy to get the right infusion time as you can remove the leaves from the water for the perfect cup.

- A nice full infuser basket allows the leaves the space they need to unfurl and expand, allowing the full flavour to release.

- What ever your teapot is made of heat it with hot water before making your tea to get a consistent brewing temperature.

Happy brewing!

We’re pretty excited to launch the first of our small batch teas with Houjicha - a very special roasted Japanese green tea. It brews an absolutely delicious cup (we are hooked!).

The leaves for this tea are grown on a certified organic farm in Wazuka, Japan which has a reputation for truly great tea. The farmer, Nakai San has a 350 year family tradition in tea farming and converted to organics 26 years ago due to health issues from over exposure to pesticides.

Once picked the leaves are skilfully steamed, dried, rolled then roasted. Because Hojicha is roasted after production this brew tastes like honey, caramel and toast and makes a chesnut coloured infusion- the perfect tea for coffee locers.

Hojicha is best brewed in water at 80 degrees for 1 minute and can be re-infused up to 4 times.

It's available by special order only, so drop us a line if you'd like to try some!